INDIANAPOLIS – You might as well call Phillip Dorsett the team's 12th offensive starter in 2016.
Dorsett will likely be listed behind T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief on the team's depth chart, but his playing time could rival that of a starter next fall.
If Dorsett is indeed the Colts' No. 3 wide receiver in 2016, his impact will be counted on significantly.
"He's obviously going to get more playing time, more exposure," Chuck Pagano says of Dorsett.
"He's a big play guy and (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski) will do a great job creating ways to get the ball in his hands."
It took 16 weeks of Dorsett's rookie season before we saw a snippet of what Pagano is alluding to.
With Dorsett healthy (an injured ankle forced the rookie to miss more than a month last year) and Chud cuing up the plays, the Colts dialed their first-round pick's number.
Dorsett played 53 snaps in Week 17, about a quarter of his rookie-year playing time.
From routes as a wideout to a handoff, Dorsett was going to touch the ball in the Colts' season finale.
Week 17 was a precursor for what the Colts are going to call on Dorsett for throughout 2016.
Gone are Andre Johnson and Griff Whalen (861 combined snaps and 60 receptions).
Insert Dorsett (215 snaps and 18 receptions) into absorbing much of that workload.
"It's really important we integrate Dorsett into this offense and use that speed," Jim Irsay said at this year's League Meetings.
When the Colts drafted Dorsett No. 29 overall last May, Irsay delved into the need to have a "third" wide receiver take advantage of a matchup opposite a team's nickel back.
Such situations should be on full display in 2016.
With T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief once again pacing the group, are favorable one-on-ones coming Dorsett's way?
"(Dorsett) can be obviously a huge asset to us," Pagano says. "We've got to find ways to get the ball in his hands, (i.e.) a reverse.
"However we do it, Chud will find a way (because) big plays down the field, run after catch, (Dorsett) can obviously do that for us."
